Heliopolis High Harmony
by MJP
Summary: [3 up!] Two rival schools open the year with an escalation in an ongoing war. As they begin their senior years, two distant friends realize that they ended up on opposite sides. This episode, Kira and Athrun burn off their caffeine highs. R&R, please!
1. Can't Hardly Wait

**A/N:** I swore I wouldn't write this story. I have a ton of other things, writing included, as well as work and Real Life. I didn't want the concept to turn into an almost-abandoned schtick like some of my other fics became while I concentrated on my New Big Thing. But something just drove me to fire up Word and start this.

There are a lot of Gundam Seed school-days fics out there, but I want to make the very best one. It's drawing most of its references and experiences from classic schoolmedia (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Rock 'n Roll High School Forever, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Clueless, Saved by the Bell, etc.) and most of the minor details like geography, layout of buildings and hangouts, etc. are derived from my high school experience.

I assure you that this is NOT self-insertion, there are no OCs or Gary Stus (I may have to use a few as extras, but hopefully not as much) and for the current time, we're staying within Seed. Sorry, ShinnxLuna fans.

Constructive criticisms and reviews are always welcome. I welcome negative and positive reviews,so long as they aren't flaming.Also, I want to know what constitutes really great GS and GSD fanfic. People, if you have a favorite author or story, let me know; my E-mail link is in my profile. Or you could leave it along with a review… heh heh. ;-)

Thanks to Lakewood for supporting this idea, almost a year ago to the day, as well as his beta reading.

The title is an homage to the seminal Boyz II Men album, Cooley High Harmony. I picked it for the sound alliteration and little else... I just miss Boyz II Men, that's all.

Last bit of housekeeping: a lot of names changed when translated to English. For purposes of naming (e.g. Dullindal vs. Durandal), I'm using Wikipedia's names for characters.

Updated on May 20th with Lakewood's beta edits. Thanks, Lakewood!

On with the show!

* * *

**1: Can't Hardly Wait**

* * *

**Monday, September 6th, 72 CE  
****18 Rhododendron Way  
****Heliopolis, Connecticut  
****7:17 AM**

It wasn't the sunlight or even the chirping birds. He was used to those by now; fortunately, the migratory crows that had been bothering him, constantly _caw_ing outside his room, were blessedly silent today.

It was the Haro that got to him.

Through the wall of the room next door.

"Haro! It's morning already! Haro!"

Kira Yamato shuddered from the sudden, sharp shock of the electronic voice, barely muffled by the wall.. The voice had bolted him out of a deep, restful sleep that had only begun five hours ago.

"Haro! You're looking well! Haro!"

Burying his face in his pillow did nothing. Pulling his blankets over his head not only didn't muffle the sound well enough, but quickly made it way too hot under the covers.

"Mwrrrr..." He grumbled a low mutter as he swung his legs out of bed, scratching his chest under his battered, wrinkled black T-shirt that served as half of his pajamas. The mutter was followed by a yawn that sucked up most of the oxygen in the room.

"Turn your stupid alarm clock off..." he half-muttered, half-yelled. Kira flung himself back onto his bed, his dark violet eyes bleary with sleep. Rubbing them did nothing, and having them closed only made him want to flop back onto his pillow.

"Haro! Eat your breakfast! Haro!"

Kira muttered a curse under his breath. _She finally comes back after all these years,_ he thought bitterly, _and all she has to show for it is some dumb Japanese alarm clock robot thing._

He got to his feet, and after a moment's vertigo, he trudged out to his almost-long-lost sister's room. A few pounds on the door interrupted the mechanical sounds of "Haro! Haro!" along with the flapping of its little... wing things... and other enthusiastic sounds.

"Hey!" he yelled/muttered as he pounded. "Turn that thing off; I'm trying to sleep here!"

Kira's next pound on the door was cut short as it flew open. He saw a glare from a pair of accusing brown eyes just before his pounding fist socked the forehead between them.

Downstairs, the old tortoiseshell laminate kitchen table shook briefly as an audible thud echoed from upstairs. The empty glasses in a cabinet clinked from the vibrations of the sound as a series of angered footsteps trundled in from the bedrooms into the kitchen, leaving Kira prostrate on the floor from a hard punch to the stomach.

Cagalli Yula Athha, the source of the angry quasi-march, tossed her shoulder-length dark blonde hair over her shoulder as she stretched her neck out. A few satisfying pops later, she looked back over her shoulder as Kira brought himself back up.

"Good morning to you too," she said with a wry smile as her brother came back to his feet.

"You didn't have to hit me," Kira protested as he opened the cabinet, fishing out a glass. "Of all the times not to have any coffee in the house..."

"You're not awake after all that?" Cagalli poured herself some grapefruit juice and popped her daily multivitamins. "I figured you'd be sleeping like it's still summer. You'll thank me tomorrow when you get a good night's sleep tonight."

Kira took a bottle of soda from the fridge and drank some straight from the container. "That's a reason enough to sleep in today!"

"Hey!" Cagalli shot an angry look at Kira. "The rest of us have to drink from that!"

"It's too early," Kira yawned. "I can't pour properly on five hours' sleep."

"It's not like you should be drinking soda in the morning. You're pretty immature sometimes, Kira."

"Oh, so I guess you're in charge now, huh?"

"If Mom and Dad hadn't left me in charge, I'd be the one drinking that from the bottle," Cagalli said with a sigh. "I hope you managed to get the rest of your notebooks."

"Yeah, I got those. I stole yours."

"Hey!"

There wasn't much conversation over the cereal, a mutually agreeable honey-nut granola that had emerged from rigorous debate between the siblings. When Muselix and Cocoa Puffs came into conflict, it was all they could do to compromise.

"You're driving, right?"

"Yeah." Cagalli jangled the keys of her battered '56 Toysler-Ford Hierophant, five days removed from its prior original owner. They had barely been able to agree on how to buy and use a car, but Kira managed to contribute just enough to edge out his sister's amount..It was a battered old sedan, but it got the job done and even came with a refurbished fuel cell straight from the dealer. "You don't have any plans to go anywhere after school?"

"Nah, not unless something comes up. I just hope it doesn't." Kira sighed, fiddling with the collar of his shirt. "I just want to get back home and finish up from last night."

"You're on that damn computer too much." Cagalli slid her empty cereal bowl over to Kira. "Here, you get those and I'll pull the car out."

The cereal bowls went into the recently-emptied dishwasher and Kira went to brush his teeth. The teenager stared into the mirror for a moment, his dark eyes not really reflecting much. He rubbed the last of his sleepiness out, splashed some cold water onto his face, grabbed his favorite messenger bag, and locked the front door behind him. The Heirophant was already whirring at idle.

"Let's get going," Cagalli annoyingly yelled, beeping the horn with her trademark half-scowl on her face.

"Sieg Zeon," Kira mumbled, dripping with sarcasm, as he popped open the door and buckled his seat belt. Cagalli had already shifted into gear.

**Brighton Yard Avenue  
****North Heliopolis, CT  
****7:37 AM**

His father's Bentley was a custom job, an import that had been handed down for generations. The current driver was the grandson of the original chauffeur, the mechanic was a Herefordshire farmer's grandson, having moved far up from tractors. The only part of the car that wasn't British in some way was its passenger.

Athrun Zala never really liked the new uniform. It was fine to wear, perfectly comfortable, but the martial appearance didn't really lend itself to him.

_A button-down shirt and slacks would have been fine for me,_ he thought, undoing the clasps of the stand-up collar, _but I guess this is what sold Father on ZAFT High._

ZAFT. The Zodiac Academy for the Future of Tomorrow. Despite its name, the private foundation had strong ties to the Zala Foundation and its charitable giving. The chairman of the board for the Heliopolis Museum of Arts and the Coastal Connecticut Opera Foundation (as well as his father on off hours), Patrick Zala was so heavily involved in the business side of his job that he was surprised at his son's technical inclination.

"Don't get wrapped up in the operations side of things, Athrun," he had growled. "You've got too much promise to be working at some help desk or call center. If that's what you want to do, give ZAFT High a chance first. You can learn all you want, but they'll _teach_ you what you really need. It's better than Heliopolis High, at any rate."

So it was over the previous spring. It was a long, hard chain of arguments and debates to move Athrun from the prestigious Pequot Prep to ZAFT, but after special dispensation from Chairman Durandal (_That and probably a sizable donation,_ Athrun grumbled sardonically) he was able to transfer all his prior high school course credits to ZAFT.

"Is something troubling you, Master Athrun?" the driver asked, his Scottish accent still ever-present in his voice.

"Just nerves," the young man said, shaking his head with a smile. "I really wanted to go to Heliopolis High, but ZAFT is as close as it gets, I suppose. I didn't actually think Mother and Father would allow it."

"When it comes down to it, sir, they would do anything for you. You're the future of the Zala family, after all."

"Father's been very committed ever since we came to Heliopolis. I guess he was kind of disappointed that I wanted to move away from Pequot and Yale. I still haven't told him about enlisting yet."

"It'd break your mother's heart, young master."

"I know it would…" Athrun propped his head on his hand, staring out the wide window of the big luxury sedan. His sea-blue eyes reflected halfway back at him, halfway out at the rolling, hilly forests of the suburban Connecticut town. "But if I don't… I feel like I'll never _do_ anything in my life."

The rest of the ride was relatively quiet. The wrought-iron gates of the modern school were almost always open, and students in ZAFT uniforms – the boys' consisting of the same semi-Napoleonic dark maroon military jacket and dress slacks, the girls' a more conventional blazer and pleated gray skirt – were mostly heading toward the main doors of Amuro Hall, the main building on the campus.

"Thanks, Angus," Athrun acknowledged his driver. He had long since abandoned the formality of justcalling him "McCrory," as his father did.

"Nary a problem, young master," the driver acknowledged as he held the door open for his young charge.

Athrun checked his collar again. _Here goes nothing._

**Heliopolis Regional High School  
****7:55 AM**

They pulled into the farthest parking space from the high school building just as thefirstwarning bell rang.

"If we're late because you got lost, I'm not covering your ass, Cagalli," Kira moaned.

"Shut up!" she shot back. "I did the best I could, but we'd either be late because of traffic or late because I took a shortcut!"

They raced the hundred or so yards into the building, trading insults like a typical brother and sister, until they managed to hang a left by the main office, going past the cafeteria, and down the hall in towards the English wing. Room 23 and 25 awaited Cagalli and Kira respectively. Kira managed to skid to a stop just in front of the door, walking through quietly and without too much of a rush. The next person through the door was the teacher.

"Okay, let's do this," an enthusiastic, wry voice called out over the buzzing of conversation in the classroom. A tall, handsome man with wavy blonde hair, sharply blue eyes,and a sculpted face walked through the door, closing it behind him. "This is 12th grade, homeroom 25. I'm Mwu La Flaga, and I'll be teaching Current Events, Speaking and Rhetoric, Social Psychology. I just started to advise the Drama Club and I'm also a backup coach on the fencing and judo teams. You'll be hearing enough of my voice throughout the year, but I'm pretty sure you might not be too scared. I hope."

Most of the class chuckled at that. A few of the girls quickly whispered some excited comments to each other. Kira picked up a "he's so cute!" from one of them.

"I'll be passing out all the usual paperwork: name and address cards, waivers for your parents to sign and bring in, and this year's student handbook. I've been asked to tell you all to note a big change: the school's honor code now involves interactions with students in other schools. Nobody wants a repeat of the plastic cement incident with ZAFT High or their little chemistry experiment on our Haroball fields. Keep it civil." Mwu stared down the groans and protests. "People, ZAFT students are students just like you, with the same goals, hopes, and dreams. Prank wars aren't how we do things here. Clear?"

"Clear," the general mumble came back. Kira raised an eyebrow; he wasn't big on the sports teams, but he knew that everyone who _did_ follow sports was disappointed that the homecoming game was cancelled due to a strange liquefaction of the field only hours before gameday.

"Good. Enough housekeeping." The teacher pulled the chair from behind his desk at the front of the room, dragged it across the linoleum floor, and sat on it, arms resting on the back as he leaned forward with a friendly grin. "So let me get to know you people a little. Let's start from my left: name, rank, and serial number."

In room 23, a similar routine was going on.

"I teach World History I and II," Ms. Murrue Ramius was explaining as she passed out her share of the forms and sheets to her students. Cagalli scanned the student handbook idly, halfway bored already. "I've also been working with the Literature Club, the student newspaper, and I'm advisor to the Student Council for the seniors. If any of you are concerned about anything, you don't have to be in a class with me to come talk to me." The young teacher looked up and smiled. "Despite what many of you might have heard, I try to make things a _little_ enjoyable."

It didn't help that peals of laughter came from next door.

"I mean, what is the deal with airline food?" the student in front of Kira expounded, talking with one hand while the other was tucked in the pocket of his jeans. "It's nice to eat and everything, but maybe we want to take the other half of the quarter-egg omelet in a doggy bag."

_Great. So much for standing out._

"Okay, Mr. Feldstein, you can sit down now," Mwu gestured ostentatiously. "We won't applaud, we'll just throw money. Next, you there." He gestured towards Kira.

Kira stood up. "Hi, I'm Kira Yamato," he started off, looking around the room. "I've been going to Heliopolis High since I was a kid… my sister Cagalli just started here this year since she's been studying in Orb for the past few years. I'm really into computers and mechanical things like that, but I've been doing lighting for the Drama Club, too. Be gentle with me," he finished off on a joke.

_Not quite the reaction I'd hoped for, but…_

"Nicely said," Mwu joked. "Someone needed to play the mysterious and quiet card. Next victim?"

* * *

"I'm Cagalli Yula Athha," Cagalli announced, standing up with a loud scrape of her chair. "Seventeen years old. Kira Yamato is my brother; he's next door. I just came back from studying in Orb while my parents were working there." 

"How's he your brother if your last names are different?" one student asked.

"It's a long story," she shot back.

"So what would you like to do here, Cagalli?" Murrue asked, smiling.

"Probably just play football or rugby or something like that."

The class chuckled. "Those are _boys_' sports, genius," someone yelled.

"Spare me the details." Cagalli rolled her eyes. "I don't expect you to understand, but there's such a thing ascivic teams. You people can just go bash your heads against the wall and go prank ZAFT, and-"

"Thank you, Cagalli," Murrue interjected. "Not to upstage you, but it's Mr. Argyle's turn. Sai, I remember you from last year, but why not introduce yourself to everyone else?"

* * *

**Zodiac Academy for the Future of Tomorrow**  
**8:10 AM**

"Ladies and gentlemen," Chairman Gilbert Durandal, the head of theZAFT Foundation's board and the principal, spoke from the podium of the school's stately auditorium. "Welcome to another year at ZAFT. We take great pride in our standards and our students, and in passing them on to society. By incorporating the facilities into our academics, we have aimed to create the leaders of tomorrow by teaching it directly…"

Athrun had heard the speech before, either at his father's fundraisers, the entrance ceremony at Pequot Prep, at every single formal function he'd sat through, been dragged to, or forced to attend. He was smiling, but not by virtue of the speech.

He'd spotted her out of the corner of his eye, and there wasn't a doubt in his mind. It was her.

"Hey," a voice whispered to him from behind, followed by a tap on his shoulder; he turned from his sudden reverie. "You look new."

It was a young-looking boy with lime-green hair and blue trim on his uniform. A first-year student, the equivalent of a tenth-grader.

"Yeah," Athrun whispered back. "Is there anything important that he ends up talking about?"

"Not really. I'm Nicol Amalfi."

"Athrun Zala." He turned to shake the other student's hand.

"Where'd you come from?"

"Pequot Prep. My dad wanted me to end up in Yale and Wharton."

"So did mine," Nicol nodded in agreement. "But my mom wouldn't let him do that. I'm here for music theory. Piano."

"There are music programs here, too?" Athrun asked. He thought ZAFT was only about tech studies programs and high-level liberal arts.

"ZAFT isn't just for mechanical engineers anymore," Nicole smiled. "My friend Dearka is actually one of the few who got into the aviation program. He gets to go fly a training Zaku once a week. He even knows someone who's part of JROTC while he's taking classes."

Athrun's eyes went wide. "They really let students pilot a Zaku?"

"I'll introduce you. He can tell you more."

"Welcome to the 72nd academic year at ZAFT," Durandal finished. "We have high hopes for each and every one of you."

**Heliopolis High  
****11:26 AM**

Kira had lucked out; he had first lunch section with most of his old friends. Tolle Koenig and Kuzzey Buskirk had already staked out the same edge of the same table at which they'd eaten lunch for most of the last year. One chair was conspicuously empty.

"So what's it like with your sister back home?" Tolle asked between bites of turkey on rye. "She's probably busy chopping down trees and stuff."

"She's not that tough," Kira responded, quietly sizing up his sandwich. He was only good at making tuna fish, and tuna fish it was, just as it had been every day over the summer. "She really doesn't get in the way or anything like that, if that's what you mean. She kicked in for half of the car, so it's cool, really."

"I still can't believe your parents let you buy a car!" Kuzzey protested. "Mine won't let me use my savings, they won't buy it themselves, they won't let me get a job or anything."

"Hey, it's better than the alternative. I had to work delivering documents all summer." Kira had appreciated the practice driving the messenger service's big vans, but it wasn't exactly fun given the lack of air conditioning. "Tolle, didn't your parents get you a car?"

"Yeah, but I can walk to school and work, which is good since the fuel cell just died." Tolle took a drink from a can of green tea. "It's gonna be six hundred to replace it. I'll need a ride for a while," he lamented.

"Too bad Sai's still wrapped up with Flay," Kuzzey said, stealing a cheese puff from Kira's lunch. "I still can't believe they've been going out all summer!"

"I still can't believe his father made him take her to the junior prom as a business deal…" Kira lamented. He still wasn't sure if he still had a crush on the beautiful Flay yet. His shyness always got the best of him when it came down to finding an opening when she was hanging around with Milliaria and her friends…

"This will always be his chair, no matter what," Tolle pronounced. "None shall occupy it until our buddy returns!"

"Hey, Kira, I'm starving," he heard Cagalli from behind him. She strode up briskly, sat down in Sai's seat, and stole the other half of Kira's homemade tuna fish and cheese puffs. Three blank stares met her as she looked up between bites. "What? Something on my face?"

**ZAFT High  
****11:35 AM**

The cafeteria was glass and steel all over, with an open wall of food, beverages, condiments, accessories, anything that anyone might want. There were no lines or cashiers, just students walking up and taking whatever they wanted – salads, sandwiches, even what appeared to be an international section featuring Mexican food – then sitting down with their friends. Athrun looked down at a bottle of water and a roast beef sandwich, a delicate spiral of mustard on the face of the cold cuts. He thought for a moment, deciding between that and freshly-ground peanut butter, and opted for the roast beef.

"Yes, it's all free for whenever you like it," Nicol answered the question on Athrun's face. "Most of it is a donation from ShopCentral Supermarkets; their family's been going to ZAFT for years. Yzak Joule's mother is their current CEO and she's an alumni."

Athrun let out a whistle. "This is really impressive."

"The food is lousy, though," Nicol said with a wry smile, picking out a grilled vegetable salad. "Over time, you'll figure out what they make fresh and what they get from ShopCentral."

"I'll say," Athrun said with a frown at the roast beef. It was definitely roasted; it made charcoal look like snowflakes by comparison. He choked down the sandwich a bite at a time, vowing to go for a salad.

"Yo, Nicol!" a jovial voice called out. Nicol and Athrun turned to the tall, tanned blonde senior that had held up his hand in greeting. "Who's the fresh meat?"

"Dearka, this is Athrun Zala. He's a new senior. Athrun, meet Dearka Elsman. He's my next-door neighbor."

Athrun and Dearka shook hands. "Welcome to ZAFT. It's pretty tough, but so long as you don't have much sanity to lose or a social life, you'll probably actually graduate."

Athrun tilted his head a little. "Um… thanks?"

Dearka grinned. "Don't worry about it. If you got through the entrance exams, you'll do fine. Just don't freak out like Yzak."

"I heard that, you bastard!" an angry voice yelled out from far too close. Athrun almost jumped in surprise. "Who are you to say that I'm going about this wrong? You're the one who's rolling around in a Zaku trying to pick up women!" The source of the complaint, a pale, angry-looking student with longish white hair, stormed up to Dearka and glared at him.

"Speak of the devil," Dearka lamented.

"What the HELL did you just say, you bastard!" Yzak screamed, grabbing Dearka by his starched collar.

Athrun let them go at each other as he looked past Yzak's shoulder, moving as he shook his fist at Dearka. Just past the white-haired agitator, he saw the same movement as he did at the speech. A small, bouncing pink object.

_So she really **does** go here!_

**Heliopolis High  
****2:15 PM**

"So that's the details of your first project," Mwu said happily, handing out a sheet to his students along with the week's Newsweek. "Isn't that great? Now you don't have to worry for the future."

The class moaned as one, not having expected to do anything for the first week. Kira paged over the requirements, a four-page analysis of trends in Newsweek, not really looking forward to it. He knew a little about the world around him from RSS feeds, but aside from knowing that Seigel Clyne had recently been elected governor in a recall election, there wasn't all that much else. There wasn't anything in the table of contents concerning Linux releases, thus nothing really excited him.

The bell rang again. School was over for the day.

"Read the article on the election for tomorrow!" Mu called out. "That's all for today, see you next time!"

Cagalli was waiting for him outside the hallway. "You got hit with it too, right?" she asked.

Kira looked at the assignment again. "Four pages due next Monday." He sagged his knees dramatically. "Whatever. Let's just go home."

He stashed his backpack in his nearby locker, not really needing it for the next day, and turned around to call for his sister. He froze in place as he saw his friend Sai coming around the corner, Flay Allster on his arm.

Kira immediately turned and blushed, still not sure about his friend and the girl he wasn't sure he liked. _I'm happy for him, but…_

"Hey, Kira!" Sai called out, waving. "So you got La Flaga for homeroom, right?"

"Oh, um, yeah," he said shyly, turning around. "Hi, Flay."

"Hi Kira," Flay said with the minimum politeness and acknowledgement. "Hey, Sai, are we going to Minerva's after school?"

"Sure, I guess. Hey, Kira, you wanna come along?"

"Oh, that's OK. Cagalli and I have to start on a project."

"That's what you get for taking Current Events with La Flaga," Sai said sympathetically, adjusting his trademark red-lens sunglasses. "Say hi to Cagalli for me, she's right in front of me in homeroom."

"Oh, yeah, sure," he fumbled. "Later."

"C'mon," Fllay tugged on Sai's elbow. "Let's go play some DDR or something."

Kira sighed as he turned around back to his locker, Cagalli's accusing eyes looking on. "You coming or what?"

"Yeah, let's go home," Kira sighed. "Nothing else to do here anyway."

**ZAFT High  
****2:20 PM**

"Hey, Nicol!" Dearka caught up with Athrun and Nicol as they headed down the main corridor of Amuro Hall. "We're gonna go do it. You still in?"

"You bet I am!" The young student immediately pepped up, a determined eagerness in his eyes. "We're really going to do it?"

"Yeah, I haven't been able to shut Yzak up about it. This is gonna be the best senior year ever." Dearka turned to Athrun. "Hey new guy, wanna come with us? We're going to steal Heliopolis' mascot costume to get them back for Junius Seven."

"Huh? What was Junius Seven?"

"It's what they did to our Haroball team at the seventh game of the Junius Cup," Dearka recounted, punching his palm. "Bottom of the eighth period, the score is tied two-two. Someone on the Heliopolis team snuck in and sabotaged our best Haro. They welded on a metal plate so our best kicker broke his toe on a penalty shot. We lost, 14-2. They call it the Bloody Valentine. Like Valentine's Day, y'know?"

"But you're going to steal their mascot? What is it?"

"Here's our target!" Yzak burst onto the scene, slapping a printed-out photo of someone wearing a strange, boxy outfit, painted in bright white, blue, and red with yellow horns. "The Heliopolis Naturals' mascot, called Strike. It's an obnoxious costume that some obnoxious idiot wears like a moron, prancing around the field at halftime. We're going to put it on the Coordinator statue out front and send the photos back at them!"

"Wait, wait… what statue?"

"George Glenn, the Coordinator," Yzak explained with an exasperated sigh. "Newbie, you'd better shape up and get your ears to the ground, you bastard!"

"Right, right." Dearka stepped in, holding up hands to the seething Yzak and confused Athrun. "So you coming? My car's out front."

"Umm…"

"Of course he is!" Yzak shoved Athrun forward. "We need all the hands we can get. Newbie, you'll run interference. Go distract their attention!"

"Wait, I don't care about Heliopolis High!" Athrun protested. He had to catch himself before explaining that the local school had been his first choice. "They haven't done anything wrong!"

"Not yet, but they will," Dearka said flatly. "What kind of team name is 'Naturals,' anyway?"

Perplexed, Athrun followed Yzak and Dearka, Nicol in close tow, out to the parking lot. A shiny new '72 Benzler Buster started up at Dearka's remote signal, and they tore past the crowds of students walking downhill to their respective buses and chauffeured rides home. Athrun idly looked out his window before he was distracted by another eerily familiar flash of bright pink. Bouncing bright pink.

"Hey, wait a second! Stop the car!" Athrun cried out suddenly.

"No stopping!" Yzak shouted, pointing forward like a cavalryman. "We go to take down the Naturals!"

"We're stopping," Dearka deadpanned, braking to a stop. "Make it quick, okay?"

"I will. Thanks." Athrun got out of the car and ran a few yards back. _I knew it. I knew it all along!_

**Heliopolis High (parking lot)  
That same time**

"What kind of piece of junk did you talk me into buying, Kira?" Cagalli moaned. They were sitting in their Hierophant, dead in the water. She tried the electronic ignition first, then the mechanical backup. Both generated a ready, pitched growl from the starter, but the engine didn't take.

"Try riding on the clutch again," Kira suggested. "Give it some more throttle, too."

"This isn't a computer, Kira. Don't even try." Cagalli popped the hood open and got around to the front, staring at the morass of metal and tubing for the hydrogen fuel cells and the engine. "Start, damn you!" She brought her fist down on the camshaft block, not even wincing.

"I'll go look for someone with a jumper." Kira got out, left Cagalli to curse at the engine, and started walking back to the school. Anyone else with a car had already left the lot. _Maybe there's a teacher who has one. Mr. La Flaga might still be around, I hope._

**ZAFT Academy  
That same time**

He didn't even hesitate to walk up and gently tap her on the shoulder.

"Lacus?" He took another step, justa little closer. "It's you, isn't it?"

She wore her long pink hair in a ponytail, contrasting nicely against the maroon cashmere of her uniform blazer. A few locks of her flowing hair danced in the gentle hillside breeze as she turned around, barely appearing to move as she did so.

"Athrun? I had no idea that you were here!"

Lacus Clyne smiled at Athrun as she clasped her leather school bag in front of her with both hands. "It's good to see you again, Athrun," she said gently, her soft tenor voice gracefully toned, a pleasing song even when she wasn't singing. "I didn't think I'd see you again after you went back home from Wellesley."

"My transfer approval came through a day after I came back from the program," he explained, trying not to show his surprise and sudden onset of shyness. "You had to leave so suddenly and I was worried I wouldn't be able to find a way to see you again."

"Oh, I apologize… I wish I had the chance, but when my father's campaign kicked into gear, he practically begged me to come on the trail to sing at his rallies." She smiled, her blue eyes shining from the effort. "I was worried too. I thought I'd never have the chance to work with you again."

"Yeah, me too!" he blurted out suddenly. "I mean, it was really fun teaching those kids with you."

"Wasn't it?" She giggled. "I still have that Haro you made me, too."

There were a series of random electronic tones and a thump from her school bag. Athrun looked down at it; it looked like something was trying to kick its way through. "I can't accept that!" A high-pitched voice bleeped out. "Why in the hell!"

Athrun laughed a little. "I knew I saw something loud, bright, and bouncy. You really still kept that?" His little mechanical toys were the hit of the summer camp they taught at. Lacus taught singing, Athrun taught electronics, but they had both volunteered to take over the musical theater program. They'd first met when Athrun had almost dropped a bank of spotlights on her.

"He was the star of the campaign." Lacus opened her bag and took out the tiny ball-shaped robot, holding it out in her open right hand.

It bounced a few times, flapping its non-functioning metal wings. "Athrun! I can't accept that!" the Haro beeped abraisively.

Athrun laughed a little. "Wow, it's still holding together, too!"

"Don't say that. It's very well built. I'm really glad you made it for me." Lacus tilted her head and smiled. Athrun tried to stay on his feet, save for a honking horn behind him.

"Hey!" an angry Yzak-shout came from the Buster. "What are you doing, you bastard!"

"Umm…" he stammered for a moment. "We were just going to go and, uh… I'm going to help them steal Heliopolis' mascot," he explained. "I think they did something to us last year, and if it's true, we're supposed to get them back."

"Well… you have to do what you have to do, I suppose." Lacus sighed. "These prank wars don't accomplish anything but create more prank wars. I wish that everyone would settle down." The horn started honking again.

"Yeah, me too." Athrun shook his head. "I think I'm just going along to keep them from blowing up the school. But sometime later… can we, um… maybe…"

He took a breath and recomposed himself. _Go. This is Lacus. You know her. She knows you. Are you really that nervous? Would she laugh in your face?_

"Maybe we can get together sometime soon?" he asked. "It'd be great to catch up, just to talk again."

"Of course." Lacus smiled and reached into her school bag again, withdrawing a pink sheet of paper from a notepad. "Here, now you don't have any excuse." She jotted down a phone number and folded the paper into neat quarters. "Athrun, it's really so nice to see you again. I'm glad you're going to ZAFT. I hope we end up having some classes together."

"Thanks." Athrun accepted the sheet, his fingertips touching hers as he reached out. He had to fight his reflex to keep his hand where it was, but he tucked the number into his wallet securely. The horn honked again.

"Hey!" Dearka called out. "Unless she's coming with us, we gotta move, Athrun!"

"I'll call you!" Athrun said excitedly as he turned around. "I hope we get some classes together, too!"

"Old friend?" Nicol asked.

"Something like that," Athrun replied, smiling broadly. "Let's do this, guys!"

"Now that sounds like an enthusiastic participant!" Dearka remarked. "Welcome to ZAFT High, buddy. Now let's get you _properly _introduced to our school life!"

**Heliopolis High (parking lot)  
****2:45 PM**

"No luck?" Kira jogged back up to the car.

Cagalli had a visible grease mark on her forehead. "None."

"Mr. La Flaga is asking around to see if anyone has a jumper," Kira reported.

"Kira, next time you buy a car, get a mechanic to look at it first." Cagalli sighed, closing the hood of the battered blue Hierophant. "This is a dead battery for sure."

"When did you become a mechanic?"

"I worked on mobile suits for the local racing team in Orb. They race 'em like cars over there. It's really fun to watch, so I started helping out the Onogoro Astrays team."

"Then there's no reason why _you_ couldn't have looked at the car before we signed the title," Kira teased, dodging a grease rag that was subsequently thrown at him.

* * *

"Here, turn right here!" Yzak shouted. "That's our target, those bastards!" 

"I can read Mapquest. Shut up already, Yzak." Dearka signaled and turned into the driveway for Heliopolis Regional High, undoing the snap for his collar and unbuttoning his uniform jacket. "Ditch the uniforms."

The others complied, stowing their distinctive ZAFT jackets away. They all wore white undershirts, save for Yzak.

"REO Speedwagon?" Dearka couldn't stop laughing. "I can't believe you own an REO Speedwagon shirt, Yzak."

"Shut up, you bastard! It was all I had left!"

"Right, sure."

"I borrowed it from my brother!"

"Your brother's away at college."

"SHUT UP!"

"You're the one who's not shutting up. Get down!"

Athrun and Nicol ducked behind the front seats, trying to lower themselves. Yzak didn't even bother until Dearka physically shoved his head into the front panel with a hollow thunk and a barely-muffled curse. Athrun caught a glimpse of well-cared for shrubbery and a sign: "Welcome to Heliopolis Regional High, Home of the Fighting Naturals. Dignity, Respect, Intellect." A large yellow school bus drove past them, more than one student looking down from the windows with a question in their eyes.

"They keep the supplies around the back of the building, by a small utility garage," Yzak whispered from halfway into the glove compartment. "The janitors will probably have left it open."

* * *

Kira turned to see the shiny green Buster heading across the main parking lot towards the rear of the building as the last bus left the grounds. "That's the kinda car I want one day," he said in admiration. 

"Yeah, they probably have next to zero battery failures," Cagalli protested. She'd given up and started reading her Newsweek.

* * *

"There, I see it," Dearka exclaimed. "It's just as you said. Where'd you find this, Yzak?" He pulled the car around the rear as they passed an open utility garage. 

"I skipped lunch to run reconnaisance. No way am I eating the stuff we sell!"

Dearka parked out of sight between the building and a line of trees, just shy of a science classroom.

The four students got out and huddled around the trunk of Dearka's car for an impromptu planning session. "Nicol, you go with Athrun and Yzak. Get the mascot uniform and bring it out here. Hurry!" he whispered.

"Don't order me around, y-"

"Come on, let's do this," Athrun tried to hold off the oncoming argument. "We can do this and show them they can't mess with ZAFT!"

"Athrun, whatever happened really got you fired up," Nicol observed as they tried to appear as casual as sneaking students could. "You weren't so sure about this when we left school."

"I just feel like I can actually do something," he said after a moment's thought. "I guess I really feel like I'm in ZAFT now, part of something really meaningful."

"You're damn right that this is meaningful!" Yzak snapped. "Here, help me with the torso."

The mascot outfit was a boxy, robot-like contraption. It looked like a human-shaped robot out of some sort of old sci-fi cartoon, and Athrun swore that he recognized milk cartons for parts of the forearm segments. Its chest segments were painted a bright, royal blue, accented by red cutouts that had to come straight from plastic dinner plates. _Is that an Ikea logo?_ he wondered, looking at a cut-off part of raised lettering.

They removed the Strike from a hook next to a hedge trimmer and a bolt cutter. It was big enough for a human to wear and unfortunately just a little too big for Dearka's trunk.

"Damn!" Yzak pounded his fist on the window pillar of the Buster. "We came this far and we can't steal the Strike!"

"What are we going to do now?" Athrun asked, holding the head of the costume.

"Torso goes in the trunk." Dearka started to detach the right arm. "Everyone, take a limb or two. Athrun, that head would look mighty good on you."

"Huh?" Athrun experimentally put the head part on. "Wow, it's really hard to see in this thing."

"Let's get this thing out of here before-"

"Hey, who are you kids and what're you doing?" a man's voice asked.

"Oh, uh, we were just going to take the mascot and clean it up a little," Dearka quickly lied. "It's kinda stinky."

"Well, hurry it up." A coach looked in at the four students, each of whom quickly pretended to examine their parts closely. "The Haroball team is warming up on the field near the front lot. You, finish suiting up and be out there in five minutes." The coach pointed at Athrun, who was still wearing the Strike mascot helmet, before swiftly walking out of the garage.

"Oh, crap." Athrun swallowed nervously.

* * *

"Hey, looks like the Haroball team is starting their practice," Kira pointed out. A group of students wearing track suits were jogging laps around the front lot. Each of them was juggling a large pink practice Haroball between their feet, dribbling like pro soccer players. "Cagalli, weren't you thinking of joining them?" 

"No thanks. Haroball is too boring. I'm probably going to join the fencing team since there's not really much girls' rugby or things like that."

* * *

"OK, Athrun, finish putting that on and go out to the practice field. We'll come back around the front and pick you up. In ten minutes, be at the corner of the parking lot closest to the driveway." Dearka hustled Nicol and Yzak back into his car. 

"You'd better not get caught, because we're not coming to bail you out," Yzak hissed. "Just because you're doing all the work doesn't mean you're going to get all the glory!"

"Huh? Hey, wait a minute, why do **I** have to do this?"

"Nicol is too small to fit, Yzak will probably try to tackle the Haroball team captain, and I'm the only one here with a driver's license. Besides, we haven't hazed you properly yet." Dearka clapped him on the shoulder proudly. "We're counting on you, Athrun."

Athrun slumped his shoulders and sloughed into the bulky costume, one part at a time, until he was the very figure of the Heliopolis High Strike. Even Yzak's permanent frown broke into a chuckle at the sight as Athrun trod off to the front lot.

* * *

"Hey, what's the deal with that?" Kira pointed off back towards the building. "Why did they bring out Strike?" 

"Dunno," Cagalli looked up from the driver's side of the Hierophant. "Maybe he's just there to boost people's spirits for the practice."

_This is not how I pictured ZAFT,_ Athrun thought as the team entered a series of passing drills. He was doing his best to act like a mascot, trotting around and waving his hands in the air, but he was convinced that all he was doing was looking silly. _Five more minutes. Dammit, I thought my after-school activities with ZAFT would actually **take place** at ZAFT…_

"What is he doing?" Kira said to nobody in particular, opening the door. "That's a new routine."

"You mean you actually went to the games last year?"

"Well, not really, but I did work at the concession stand…"

"Woooo! Let's go, guys!" Athrun cheered, trying to fake his way into being the mascot. _This is so stupid. Hurry, Dearka!_

_Wait a minute… over there, by that car…_

Athrun stopped his dancing fool routine almost by reflex. His vision was tinted green by the mesh eyes of the Strike, but the old blue Hierophant sedan was the last car in the parking lot and it had someone leaning up against it. Someone lanky, with tousled brown hair, a vacant yet intelligent gaze in his eyes, and an open, relaxed stance. Someone he knew. _The last time I saw someone like that...  
_

"_**Don't worry, there'll definitely be space for you," he said to the other boy, handing over a burned CD. "Your parents will let you come to Pequot, right?"**_

"_**I hope so," he said, taking the CD and holding it close. "I'll miss you until then."**_

"_**Don't worry, it won't be long!"**_

"Kira?" Athrun took off the head of the costume, shaking the sweat from his navy-black hair. "Kira? Kira Yamato?" Athrun raised his voice. "Kira! Is that really you?"

"Someone call me?" Kira looked towards the shouts of the Haroball team and the now-headless mascot. "Wait, who is that guy?"

The two boys started walking towards each other, not needing to take more than ten steps before they could see each other: blue eyes and dark hair met neatly-combed violet eyes and mousy brown hair…

Before they knew it, they were face to face, just a yard or two apart.

"Athrun?"

"Kira?"

"What are you doing here… and what are you doing in the Strike!"

"That's what I'd like to know! Why are you here in Heliopolis? This isn't where you belong!"

"What… what do you mean?"

There were some annoyed shouts as some of the Haroball team began to realize that the mascot wasn't their normal cheerleader-turned-cosplayer. Their shouts were eclipsed by a roar of the engine from a '72 Benzler Buster.

"Athrun, hurry up!" Nicol yelled, throwing open the passenger door of the car. "Let's get out of here!"

"Kira… why are you here?" Athrun was still puzzled. "You were going to go to Pequot… we could even go to ZAFT together…"

"Athrun, this is where I am… and you're stealing our mascot. Why are you doing this, Athrun?"

"Hey, stop him!" a team member shouted from further across the parking lot. "He's got our mascot! He's from ZAFT!"

Athrun turned and ran towards the car, not bothering to say anything to Kira.

"Athrun…" Kira yelled out. "Athrun!" He held out a hand to his old friend, not knowing how to react as he saw him run into the car and practically dive through the door. He saw Athrun's eyes turn to meet his as the car sped off, a disctinctly mixed look of sadness and confusion present in them.

Mu La Flaga came running up just as the car disappeared down the driveway and around the corner, rear tires screeching as they drove away. "Did anyone get the license plate!" he yelled out to the assembled team, Kira, and Cagalli, who had run up just as the car drove away. He was met with numerous shaking heads.

"Athrun…" Kira breathed in. "Athrun is part of ZAFT High now…"

**To be continued…**


	2. Real Genius

**A/N**: Props as always to Lakewood for his beta work, as well as everyone who took the time to leave a review. I try to take criticism to heart, so don't hesitate to take me to task or point out errors or flaws.

If anyone here reading this is actually from Connecticut, send me a PM or an E-mail. I don't know enough to really localize this without turning it into a touristy seaside CT town or a city like Hartford, so any input onto life and culture in Connecticut will be much appreciated. I just drove through the state for Anime Boston and it was a beautiful ride, that's for sure.

* * *

**2 – Real Genius

* * *

****Near Heliopolis High  
****2:50 PM**

"So who was that guy?" Cagalli looked over at her brother as she shifted into third.

The rising whir of the Hierophant's engine was a comforting spin, but not so much as comforting as the battery charge needle slowly and surely spiraling upwards.

"Just someone I thought I used to know…" Kira faded out, looking out the window.

"_**I'll see you at Pequot…"**_

"An old friend. I guess he's a ZAFT student now."

_Athrun… _

"You OK? You look sick."

"Huh? No, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

The whir permeated the car, drowning out the silence. Kira wasn't willing to talk, and Cagalli wasn't willing to pry.

They arrived home. Kira tossed his notes on the couch, having no intention at all to work on Mr. La Flaga's assignment. He took the stairs up two at a time, closing the door to his room behind him.

_Athrun…_ Kira pulled up an old mesh-back office chair from his computer desk, staring at his monitor. The only movement was the screen saver, a small green and yellow mechanical bird. Kira idly moved the mouse around and the screen saver snapped off. The bird retreated to a corner of the screen. "Torii!" it called, the sound projecting itself from well-concealed computer speakers.

"Bring up today's news," Kira said depressingly. The bird flapped its wings and "flew" into a web browser, bringing up a series of news feeds that Kira subscribed to. He didn't feel like reading them, but he knew it would give the bird something to do.

_We left on good terms. It's not like I don't still count myself as your friend… if you count me as yours…_

"Torii!"

"Oh, um… bring up my E-mail."

Another flight into his mailbox. _I never get spam any more thanks to what you made for me, Athrun,_ Kira thought, skimming over a mass mail to the Heliopolis High stage crew.

**From: La Flaga, Mu**

**To: HHS Stage Crew (All)  
****  
Subject: This year's production**

"**Good afternoon, I'm just sending everyone a really quick heads-up. We're going to start set construction for Godot next week. Measurements, planning, and light configuration will all take place simultaneously. You all did a great job with the summer kids and The Pajama Game, and this one's going to be a real kicker. The Drama Club is holding auditions while we're working. They have the costume prep room, so get what you need before they start. We'll meet in the auditorium after school next Wednesday. Any questions, come see me.**

**Mr. La Flaga"**

Kira moved the mail to his hard disk and rolled the chair away from the computer. "Why would he take the mascot?" he mused out loud, running a hand through his hair. "What was he doing? Ever since the Bloody Valentine, we've been at odds with ZAFT and this is just the next step upwards."

**Near ZAFT High**

"I can't believe we really did it!" Nicol exclaimed, triumphantly holding up the arm of the Strike. "We really stole their mascot!"

"Those bastards had it coming!" Yzak proclaimed. "We'll show them that ZAFT doesn't take injustices lightly!"

"Injustices aside, maybe we should hold it hostage." Dearka grinned evilly. "Let's take photos of us with black masks and plastic swords or something. We can behead it! Right, Athrun?"

"Right," Athrun said, his voice still muffled from wearing the Strike mask. Dearka's Buster didn't have much back seat room; he'd been forced to throw the helmet on just as they had sped away. "But what if they try to get us back?"

"Then we'll get _them_ back," Yzak seethed. "Whatever they do, we can do better. We're Coordinators! We're the ones who're destined to make things right that those Naturals mess up!"

Dearka nodded and Athrun tuned them out just as Dearka made a joke about "coordinating your mother last night" to provoke Yzak.

_You went to their side, Kira?_ He stared out the window, again halfway at his reflection and halfway at the countryside. The gates of ZAFT High flew by them.

"Hey, Athrun!" Dearka's voice called from the front seat.

"Huh?"

"I was asking if you needed a ride home."

"Oh, yeah… no thanks, I'll be fine. My father's chauffeur should be waiting for me by now."

"Okay. Hey, we're going to Minerva's this weekend. You should come along."

"Why does he have to come with us!" Yzak shouted. "If he wasn't bumbling all over the parking lot, we'd-"

"It's a really cool place. Half arcade, half club and restaurant. A lot of us go there."

"I didn't really have any plans…" Athrun said. _Does Lacus go to Minerva's?_ "Sure, that sounds like fun."

Dearka pulled up beside the Bentley. "See you tomorrow. Oh, hey, come early. Class selections start and the lines can be a killer."

"How early is early?"

"If the sun is up, you're too late. What's your cell? We'll keep you posted."

Athrun laughed a little. "I'm sure it's not that bad." He took off the mask, slipped it into the back seat, and swapped cell numbers with Dearka. The robotic head blankly stared back at him, as accusing as a mask could look. "See you guys."

His driver was waiting patiently. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Angus," Athrun apologized. "I didn't keep you too long, did I?"

"Nary a problem, young master," Angus replied. "Will you be going straight home?"

Athrun thought for a moment. "Can we stop at Radio Shack first?" _I have an idea…_

"But of course, Master Athrun."

**The Yamato residence  
****6:35 PM**

Kira poked at his dinner. A partially disassembled piece of chicken, a barely dented serving of mashed potatoes, and a handful of baby carrots populated his plate.

"Kira, what _is_ it already?" Cagalli protested. "If you don't like my cooking, feel free to open up a package of ramen or something."

"No, that's not it," Kira said, forcing himself to cut a piece of chicken off. _It really is lousy, but mine is worse,_ he reflected upon chewing and swallowing the dry chicken breast. "I guess it was just a long day."

"It was a pretty long summer, wasn't it," Cagalli agreed. "It seems like I came back from Orb ages ago."

"Yeah, it was pretty rough with us being running around all year. I had my job and teaching the stage crew for the summer program… you were working, unpacking, moving your stuff in from Orb."

Cagalli put her fork down on her plate and her elbow on the table. "Mom and Dad were really sad to see me go back to Heliopolis," she said, then caught herself. "I mean, going back home."

"We only really met each other a few months before you left for Orb. That was just before the end of junior high…"

"Kira, I think you did pretty good for yourself since then."

"Yeah, I suppose. It was tough without Athrun, too."

He didn't realize what he'd said until he said it.

"_**Don't worry, there'll definitely be space for you," he said to the other boy, handing over a burned CD. "Your parents will let you come to Pequot, right?"**_

"_**I hope so," he said, taking the CD and holding it close. "I'll miss you until then."**_

"_**Don't worry, it won't be long!"**_

"It's been tough," Kira idly remarked.

"Yeah." Cagalli forked a carrot and stared at it idly. "I wonder what he's doing these days?"

"_**What are you doing here… and what are you doing in the Strike!"**_

"_**That's what I'd like to know! Why are you here in Heliopolis? This isn't where you belong!"**_

"I wish I knew."

**The Zala Residence**  
**2 Brighton Yard Avenue  
****7:15 PM**

He couldn't even concentrate on the class selection site. Just in the same way that he wasn't able to concentrate on his PC, his handbook, his post-application paperwork, or the newspaper.

Athrun stared at the half-assembled hollow metal sphere in front of him. Its primary logic circuit had already been bolted down into the lower half, and a set of small hydraulics protruded from the circuitry. He'd already sprayed a coat of primer on the exterior, and it had most of the external parts already constructed. The beginnings of a Haro.

_The software versions moved up from the first Torii that I developed,_ he remarked idly. _Kira volunteered to beta-test it. Just before we moved to Heliopolis. _

He typed a quick command into his computer. Linked to a test line, the Haro's hydraulics expanded in response. "I can't accept it!" the tiny onboard speaker screamed out.

_He's on the other side. How long has he been with Heliopolis? Since before the Bloody Valentine? Afterwards? Was he there to watch the Haroball team practice? I don't know what he's done, but that was Kira Yamato. Kira Yamato is the enemy of ZAFT…_

The Haro, powered off, joined the pile with his handbook and post-application paperwork, just to the side of the newspaper.

**The Yamato Residence**  
**11:56 AM**

Kira typed the last command into the compiler program, then clicked the "Start" button. The Torii system assistant program hopped on its digital feet over to the system icon on his desktop. "Torii!" it shouted out as a prompt came up. _Good, it's diverting the resources. Nine hours to recompile the kernel._

Kira shut off his monitor and speakers and climbed into bed, not really anticipating the next day. He'd read some token bits of the article that Mr. La Flaga had assigned, a summary piece on Governor Clyne's successful recall campaign. He'd highlighted bits about his daughter, a student around his age, who had stunned the media and supporters with her beautiful singing voice and appearance. It didn't matter to Kira; he wasn't yet of voting age and didn't really care much about fiscal policy, or even the massive fraud allegations that had prompted the recall.

_Tomorrow's another day,_ he thought, rolling over in bed with the lights still on. _I guess everyone's going to be up in arms about Strike being stolen._

**Heliopolis High  
****7:45 AM  
****Tuesday, September 7th**

He couldn't have been more right.

"Kira, you really saw it?" Sai leaned forward over the cafeteria table. Flay never came to school any earlier than she had to.

"Yeah, while we were waiting for a jump-start. A bunch of ZAFT students rode up in a car and the guy in Strike jumped in. Mr. La Flaga and the Haroball team chased after them a bit, but they were gone before we knew it." Kira was only paying half attention to Sai, Tolle, and Kuzzey. The rest was on the Newsweek and highlighter that he held. "That was that."

"Wow." Tolle yawned and scratched his head. "I guess all the teams are going to call for the heads of ZAFT this season."

"Tolle, you only go to the games for Milliaria," Kuzzey pointed out. "Since when did you get so interested in all this?"

"Everyone's talking about it. It's natural."

"Seriously. Kira, you should have tried to stop them!"

"Yeah!" Sai threw his arm around Kira's neck in a playful headlock. "You coulda been a hero to the school!"

"You were going to go to Pequot… we could even go to ZAFT together…" 

"Yeah, I guess." Kira struggled out of Sai's lock and highlighted a few lines from a description of asset redirection before the recall campaign. "I didn't really know what to do, that's all."

Kira looked over his shoulder. At a table in the back, near the vending machines, a clique of Haroball players sat in the old overstuffed couches. They were visibly seething; one was even throwing a Haro against the wall repeatedly. It gave a satisfyingly hollow thunk every time it hit the painted brick wall. None of them were smiling.

"Why does the Haroball team care that much anyway?" Kira wondered out loud. "It's not like they kidnapped a cheerleader or something like that."

"Hey, we're irreplaceable!" a perky female voice teased from behind him, aside the table. Kira turned.

"Oh, hey Mil," Kira said, raising his hand in a greeting. "Sorry to hear about Strike."

Miriallia Haw shrugged and sighed. "ZAFT messed with us, we messed with them. Everyone's to blame. I just hope they don't mess with the fields again. Jenny sank about three feet when they liquefied the fifty-yard line." She pulled up an errant chair and sat down next to Tolle. "Word has it that the Haroball team's going to hit them back and hit them hard. Oh well. Kira, are you going to work at the concession stand again this year?"

"I'll pass. I've got too much on my plate. After the summer drama program, I'm probably going to be doing way more lighting crew stuff than normal." Kira rolled his eyes. "All this responsibility isn't worth looking good on a college application."

"Psh. Kira, you'll get in anywhere you want." Kuzzey brushed off Kira's remark with a wave and a smile. "It's people like us who're only good in history that aren't going to get a decent job."

The warning bell rang. "Hey, guys!" Miriallia held them up, throwing an arm around both Kuzzey and Kira as they stood. "We're going to Minerva's after school. Flay's dad got her that Manta she always wanted. She's probably going to show the new toy off. Why don't you come down? It'll be fun to prod her." Milliaria grinned, the corners of her mouth pertly upturned.

_I haven't been there in forever. When we came here in our last year of school before junior high, we went to Minerva's once when our parents were going around town._

**ZAFT High  
That same time **

Athrun didn't even bother riding up to the gate. The line stretched outside the border of the school and halfway toward the street. All ZAFT students, all mixed years, all with the same blue sheet of paper in hand.

He stared down at his as the Bentley did a K-turn and drove back home.

"So much for advanced mechanical engineering," he moaned. "That and microelectronics, physics, even tethered swimming…"

His cell phone vibrated from his jacket pocket. Fishing it open, he managed to flip it open. "Hello?"

"Yo, it's Dearka. Come on up to the shrubs by Amuro Hall. We saved a spot for you in the most wonderful way," a familiar jovial voice sounded from the speaker.

"Tell that bastard to hurry up!" a harsh shout followed.

"I'll be right there." He flipped the phone closed and started heading up the school driveway.

At least, he started.

"Um…" a nervous voice ventured from the line. "Excuse me, are you Athrun Zala?"

Athrun turned. The source was a second-year, judging by the white trim on his uniform. "Are you the same guy who got the Naturals yesterday?"

"Huh?" Athrun's eyes went wide. "Who told you that?"

"He did!" the student exclaimed defensively. "Right, Bourne?" The timid student shoved the guy in front of him towards Athrun. "You heard it and told me, right?"

"I heard it from her!" Bourne excitedly gestured to a blonde girl in front of him.

"Nope, she told me." The girl gestured to the girl in front of her, who in turn silently pointed forward.

"I think I get it…" Athrun's shoulders slumped as he slowly made his way up the line. Faces turned to look and whispers followed in his path. "I think I get it a little too well."

The line, approaching a half-mile long, had its front at Amuro Hall and its finely landscaped entrance. Amongst the trimmed shrubs was, just as Athrun had stolen it, the Strike mascot costume, suspended on a biology classroom skeleton.

"There he is!" someone called out as Dearka, Nicol, and Yzak noticed him approach. "There's the man who stole Strike!"

A sudden peal of applause broke out down the line. "Athrun, you're the man!" someone yelled out. "Will you go out with me, Athrun?" a girl followed. "Me too!" a voice that _definitely_ came from a football player called out.

"Looks like you're the hero of the day, Athrun," Nicol grinned.

"Yeah," Dearka walked up and patted him on the back. "Didn't stealing that mascot end up paying off in the end?"

"I guess… but isn't this all a little much?"

"Let me have a look?" Dearka held out his hand and Athrun passed him his schedule form. "Wow. You really thought you'd make it into advanced mech? _And_ physics with the only native English-speaking teacher? You really should have camped out."

"How long have you all been here?" Athrun asked as Dearka handed back his form.

"Hmph. Only the truly strong will survive on this battlefield," Yzak harrumphed as he downed a can of an energy drink. "I came right back after I finished my homework and spent the night on patrol!"

"On patrol?"

"I haven't moved from this spot for almost ten hours!" Yzak crushed the can in his fist, a look of angry glee in his pale gray eyes. He slammed the can against his forehead with a screaming growl.

Athrun backed away from Yzak and into the spot that the Strike armor occupied. A last round of applause heralded his entry into the line.

"Looks like you've got your share of admirers," Nicol admiringly exclaimed.

"Yeah, probably more than my share of detractors, too." He looked a little further down the line, and even though their eyes didn't meet, Athrun saw the disappointed look in Lacus' crystalline eyes.

**To be continued…**


	3. All the Right Moves

**A/N:** Again, thanks go to Lakewood for his beta work.

* * *

**3 – All the Right Moves**

* * *

**Heliopolis High**  
**8:00 AM**

"Good morning," the speaker crackled, interrupting Mr. La Flaga's vain attempt to organize his class into the seats of their choice. He welcomed the interruption so he could tear up sheets of paper, number them, and drop them into a Naturals baseball hat. "This is Vice-Principal Kisaka with your morning announcements. First off, club recruitment will begin Thursday afternoon after school. Academic clubs will set up tables in the blue cafeteria and recreational clubs will be in the red. Organizations, please note that the year's budget cuts have been factored into your initial account deposits."

That was met with a groan all around. "This stinks," the student in front of Kira muttered, tossing a pencil to the edge of his desk. Noticing the question in his eyes, he turned around. "The Stand-Up Club was on the verge of going pro, but we got hit with the football team's request for funding. What is the _deal_ with regional championships? I guess it's a matter of school pride that we assert ourselves over the Groton Hollanders. Heaven forbid we just pay some more attention to our Haroball team, what with their fantastic 0-12 record. Role models all around, people!"

"Right…" Kira tried to nod. Feldstein was terrific with bad jokes behind a microphone, but he had a tendency to back a bad schtick into a corner.

"We apologize for the sudden cut, but we are confident that the Student Council and the Organizational Committee will be able to make ends meet this semester. I remind you all that our doors are always open. Finally, the Strike mascot costume was stolen last night from the storage garage. The perpetrators responsible are asked to come forward immediately to return the costume, no questions asked, no punishment given. If it is not recovered by the end of the day, the police will be contacted and an investigation will commence. I would hope that Heliopolis High students will abide by our school's honor code and do the right thing."

"Tell it to Durandal and ZAFT!" a heckler yelled out, generating some laughter from the students.

"We already have," the speaker replied. "Don't forget that these speakers work both ways." The PA clicked off and the heckler sunk into his desk a little.

"I think it goes without saying that this class will _not_ be taking part in any retaliatory actions if this was ZAFT's doing," La Flaga warned, finishing up his seating randomization. "Pick a number and check it against the seating chart. Congratulations, that'll beyour new real estate. Mr. Yamato, a word before next class, please." Mwu handed the hat to the first student in the first row. "Take one and pass it back."

The class eventually broke up before the next bell. Kira slid out of his new seat, not too far from the window. "You wanted to see me, Mr. La Flaga?"

"Yes. You were there yesterday. We're trying to ascertain where those people came from and whether it was hooligans or ZAFT. I was hoping you'd be willing to come forward with anything you remember."

"**_What are you doing here… and what are you doing in the Strike!"_**

"_**That's what I'd like to know! Why are you here in Heliopolis? This isn't where you belong!"**_

Kira shook his head. "I guess they were from ZAFT," he speculated. "I don't really know any of their people too well, so I guess it was just some jocks out for a joyride."

La Flaga kicked back, resting his feet on the far corner of his desk. "That's a shame," he said, shaking his head. "Especially since you were so friendly with the one guy who took the Strike. "

Kira clenched his back swallowed. "But I didn't- "

"Nope, you didn't." Mwu grinned. "I'm guessing you probably had a good reason for not launching into a flying tackle and pinning him in a Texas four-square leg lock. Nobody expects you to be a hero, but in the future, it's okay to call for help."

"Right. Call for help." Kira nodded. "But I really didn't have anything to do with him."

Mwu sighed and rolled his chair back, sitting on the desk in front of Kira. "You've been going to Heliopolis since freshman year, so you know how it's been since the Bloody Valentine. We can't end the rivalry of sports teams versus sports teams, but we can all do our part to work with each other for a better world. Clear?"

"Yeah. Crystal clear."

"Good. Lecture over." Mwu patted Kira on the shoulder. "Will you be joining Stage Crew again this semester? We could use your know-how on that ancient lighting console. You probably single-handedly saved The Pajama Game."

"I don't have any reason not to."

"Good, because we've got a decent surprise for you." The handsome blonde teacher grinned. "Go on and get ready for class. You're right next door, aren't you?"

"Yeah, and you have Cagalli, right?"

"One doesn't teach your sister, one enters into conflict with her." A chuckle.

"You guys can have her." Kira laughed as well.

**ZAFT High**

The physics lecture room was starting to fill up, but it didn't take much. It was the biggest small classroom he'd ever seen, with three semicircles of five swivel chairs each, all in one big table. It was closer to a college classroom than the row seats of Pequot Prep.

"Have you had this teacher before?" Athrun asked the student to his right, who was unfolding a laptop computer.

"Yeah, last year. He may look like he's a washout from a war movie, but at least he's not Dr. Vajpayee."

"Seats, seats," a gruff, bearlike voice called out, followed by two handclaps. "We're here to shoot electricity through things and read a lot of Newton." The source of the announcement was a tall, almost scruffy-looking man in his late 30s. His tanned skin and parted, sandy-brown hair made him look more like a mechanic; his features stood out all too well against his lab coat. "I'm Dr. Andy Waltfeld, Ph.D. This is Physics IIIA, Section 1. I took this job not because I love to teach, but because I love to calculate particulate masses and their reaction to thermal expansion."

With a heavy thud, he withdrew an hourglass-shaped device suspended over a Bunsen burner and planted it on the table. "Meet my life's work," he proclaimed. "The Waltfeld brewing device. It turns coffee into ambrosia with twice the efficiency of the $3,000 Italian espresso makers you have at home. This apparatus will be the basis of at least two of the major experiments you'll be performing this year. One will be on fluid dynamics, the other will be on thermal expansion and/or exchange. Exciting, right?"

Waltfeld grinned. "Apparently, excitement still doesn't come easily at 8:05 AM." He unscrewed the bottom half of the hourglass and poured in a gallon of distilled water. "Let's start this year off right. Physics is probably the most dismally procedural of sciences out there, but we'll at least reward your work. Who here drinks coffee? I've been dying to try out my new dark-roast Kona blend on some willing subjects."

**Heliopolis High  
****2:27 PM**

The final bell rang on the quintessential second-day-back blues. Kira didn't give two craps about not really having the best summary on Mr. La Flaga's assigment, nor did he plan on doing any work on the rest of his homework. The keys to the Hierophant jangled in his pocket as he walked past his locker, having been passed on earlier by Cagalli.

"Fencing team tryouts start next week. I'm sticking around to train a little. I'll catch the late bus home." She'd dangled the keys on their Haro keychain in front of Kira. "Congratulations, you get to recharge the fuel cell on your way back."

"Thanks, sis." Kira took the keys with a grimace akin to a man punched in the stomach with a sack of fifty-dollar bills. "This means I get to skip cooking dinner tonight, right?"

"Sure, if that means we get to avoid eating your food, I'll do anything."

"I'm sure that all the guys in the athletic training rooms will appreciate your immense bench-pressing skills, Rambo."

Cagalli shoved Kira towards the exit of the English wing. "I'll see you later. Don't forget to recharge the fuel cell!"

So it was that Kira fired up the Hierophant and shifted the clutch to first. A little throttle and a gentle ease-off on the clutch got the old car moving steadily.

_I was all over the place today. In Algebra, I found X by answering "here it is," got beaned in the head with a volleyball in gym, totally blew Mr. La Flaga's Q&A…_

A recharge station was just down the road. He parked the car by an automated recharger and walked inside, swiping his debit card in one of the quick-pay slots.

_I need some caffeine._

**ZAFT High**

Athrun reorganized his locker at the speed of light. It had been six hours since he'd been volunteered to participate in Dr. Waltfeld's coffee experiment.

* * *

"You there, you look new." Dr. Waltfeld had pointed right at Athrun. It wasn't difficult since most of the students near him had either ducked under their desks or pretended not to speak English when he looked around the room. "Why don't you come down here and help me out a little, Mr…" 

"Um… me?" Athrun stood up.

"Yes, you. What's your name?"

"Athrun Zala."

"Athrun Zala, you look a little worn out." Dr. Waltfeld flipped a switch, igniting the Bunsen burner. "Are you too sleepy to find the molar mass of C8H10N4O2?"

"No, I can do that." Athrun pulled a calculator and a sheet of paper from his bag and started punching in numbers."

"Good. Then you're alert enough to help me out down here." Waltfeld gestured like a majordomo, ushering him down with a sweep of his arm. "The first thing we'll need to do is prime the grounds. A shot of espresso comes from about four scoops of fine-grind Italian roast, so let's have you open up that white tin and bring it over here. Oh, you drink coffee, right? No heart conditions or pregnancies in your future?"

* * *

The resulting batch of espresso made enough to fill a small coffee pot. Dr. Waltfeld had "rewarded" him with a cup in a small espresso mug; about twenty minutes after finishing it off (between note-taking about thermal expansion) Athrun felt the urge to get up and run laps.

"You OK?" Nicol walked up to Athrun's locker. "We didn't see you at lunch."

"Yeah, I… uh…" Athrun's heart was thumping the same way frightened rabbits ran from wolves, his eyes wide open. "You know how Yzak drank about six Red Bulls last night while waiting in line?"

"Yeah…"

"I had the equivalent in one shot of espresso."

"Oh man!" Dearka's laughing voice wafted from behind Athrun's locker door. "You volunteered for Waltfeld's coffee contraption? It's always the new guys, man."

Athrun closed the locker door, satisfied with the alphabetical-by-subject arrangement of his textbooks and folders. "I feel like running. Anyone feel like running? I really seriously need to bleed off this energy. Dearka, is there a weight room or a treadmill or an Olympic track or pool or ski slope?"

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down there, Cochise. I know just the thing." Dearka patted him on the shoulder and winked. "You need some DDR."

**Minerva's  
44 Beacon Cliff Street  
Heliopolis, Connecticut  
3:10 PM**

Kira saw Miriallia and Tolle before they saw him. A sharp beep on the Hierophant's horn got everyone's attention, though. Kira didn't know it was a custom job, and instead of the usualbeep...

"I'm so sorry, Kira." Miriallia was doubled over laughing, brushing tears from the corner of her eyes. "I shouldn't be laughing, but it's just too funny."

Tolle was rolling on the floor. "Oh man. That's… oh man…"

Kira slammed the door closed and sighed. _Why didn't we check this before we signed off on the title?_ he thought, pressing the remote lock button. The car chirped in response, a normal sound compared to the musical horn.

"'I Wish I Was in Dixie…'" Miriallia laughed. "I can't believe your horn plays 'I Wish I Was In Dixie!'"

"Hey, Kira, is that the kind you can change the music for?" Tolle teased. "Can you make it play 'Hava Nagila' for my parents? They'd love it!"

"I blame my sister and my sister alone." Kira held up his hands defensively, shaking his head. "We wanted a car, she wanted a Hierophant, we found this one, and she's going to be the one who gets that stupid horn outta here."

"C'mon, let's go inside, General Lee," Tolle switched into a Southern drawl. "We done gonna git them Yanks when we circle 'round the side o' Antietam!"

Minerva's was packed, loud, and happy. Heliopolis High wasn't too far off, and even some of the local junior high school kids came around. It was lit almost entirely by the big picture windows in the front and background lights from countless arcade games. A wall of flat screen TVs hanging from the ceiling were lit up and tuned to everything from the Yankees postseason game to a Japanese animated show about robot pilots battling something or each other. Games were scattered in clusters, loosely organized by type and genre. A jukebox off to the side was tied into the stereo system and was blaring out something poppy, electronic, and bassy.

"Hey, you guys want anything?" Tolle shouted over the music, pointing over to the snack bar in the far left corner. "You probably only drink good ol' Kentucky mint Juleps, right, Kira?"

"I'm good, thanks," Kira wryly responded, holding up a bottle of something green and cafffeinated. "You can feel free to put up for our first few rounds if you're feeling generous."

The banter in the arcade had been at the normal shout-above-the-music level, but as Kira put a bill into the change machine, the clinking of his coins was the only sound from a human. The jukebox kept singing about a quiet, peaceful night in bass and trance beats, but all the voices in the room had fallen silent.

A ZAFT High student, easily spotted due to his red jacket and its distinctive trim, had stepped through the doors to Minerva's and started looking around. His face was an angry blend of nerves and concern as he glanced around the arcade.

"What's the ZAFTie doing here?" Tolle asked, stepping next to Kira, Miriallia in tow. "Not like this isn't public, but he knows damn well that Heliopolis people come here after school."

"Yeah, and I think he knows it," Kira nervously replied as he took a swig of his soda. The ZAFT student was up at the snack bar, talking to the part-timer who was slinging food and drinks.

"Hey!" someone barked. "Looks like he's out to steal something else from us!"

"Not so badass on your own, you asshole Coordinator!" another voice joined in.

"Whoa, hey!" Kira yelped as he felt himself get shoved aside by an angry-looking Heliopolis student, obviously a Haroball player from his build.

The ZAFT student turned as he heard Kira, just in time to face down the charging Haroballer. Too late.

The Haroball player executed perfect running takedown grab, normally a fielding maneuver. Only this time, instead of grabbing an errantly bouncing Haroball, it was the unsuspecting ZAFT student.

"Let me go! Hey, I'm just trying to find someone!" the ZAFT student protested, trying to shove away the Haroball player.

"Your school took our mascot, you bastard!" the Haroball player shouted, roaring with anger. "We're gonna take something of yours!"

The Haroball player gestured, and two other tall, strong students came around from the crowd. They manhandled the ZAFT student into the men's restroom at the back of the arcade.

There was a silence as the jukebox switched tracks, punctuated by the flush of a toilet and a protesting scream.

"I haven't seen that since sixth grade," Tolle intoned mournfully. "He just got a swirlie."

_Oh man. This is not good. Nobody's been hit like that since Junius Seven itself…_

The ZAFT student ran out of the men's room, his jacket covering his head as he dashed clear. The Haroball players followed, jeering and teasing the student as he practically dove into his car, driving off in a huff.

_Athrun…_

"Hey, Kira, you OK?" Tolle waved his hand in front of his friend's face. "You're all spaced out."

"Oh, yeah…" Kira brushed some errant hair dangling onto his forehead. "I was just wondering what he was doing here, that's all."

"ZAFT people come here, but not in uniform since Bloody Valentine," Miriallia remarked. "They know it makes 'em stand out like sore thumbs."

Miriallia dragged Tolle over to one of the rhythm games, and they each ponied up their fair share. A small line of mostly junior high students backed up the machine's popularity, and Kira was content to lean against one of the Ms. Pac-Man machines that had started collecting dust.

_It really has been some time since I was here._

Tolle and Miriallia had managed to jump the line when most of the crowd, bored with the hyperactive light and sounds of the dance game, went to the vending machines near the entrance.

_Not since at least the night before Cagalli came back. She was –_

"Hey, where's the change machine at?" an uninvited voice cut into Kira's thoughts.

"Oh, right over there, behind the Initial DX machines." He pointed behind a bank of four linked racing games.

"Thanks." A tall, slim boy that Kira didn't recognize departed in a flash of tanned skin and blonde hair. Another one followed, all pale eyes and light hair. His sneer met Kira's noncommittal countenance.

_Are they new here or something?_

"Hey, Athrun, what's your poison?" Dearka asked, trading Athrun's dollar for four quarters.

"That looks fun, but I've never played anything like DDR before." The three ZAFT students had left their jackets in Dearka's car. "Right now, though, I just need to burn off all this damn caffeine."

"Heh… I think Yzak probably feels the same way."

Yzak let out a yawn that could have swallowed a small plane. "Shut up, you bastard…" he tried to shout between deep yawning. "I'll thrash you to pieces." He stretched his arms and then rubbed his eyes. "Can we go home yet? I need a nap or something."

"You're just getting old, huh?" Dearka ribbed as they waited in line behind the two people on one of the dance machines.

"I'll kill you, you bastard… yawn"

Tolle couldn't hope to compete against Miriallia, especially since his Easy was up against her Extreme. After being thoroughly booed by the machine, he stepped aside and sulked off to a zombie-shooting game, Condominium of the Dead 4.

"Go to it, Athrun." Dearka gave him a playful shove onto the platform. Athrun fumbled, almost tripping, but grabbed a support bar and got up onto the game.

_Tolle is out already?_

_Wait… that hair…_

He remembered from the day before, as his old friend had run towards the car in the Strike costume…

"Hey, Mil," Kira placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I love this song, You mind if I give it a shot?"

"Sure, if you're paying for the next round." Miriallia winked and hopped off to join in on the other gun with Tolle.

Kira waited for Athrun to pick his mode and level, not announcing his presence. "Go easy on me," his friend said, still fixed on the screen as he put in his selections. "I'm kinda new to this."

"Yeah," Kira replied, deadpan. "The last time you played Dance Dance Renovation was just before I moved to Heliopolis."

Athrun was pressing the Start button just as Kira spoke. He froze, stunned, before looking up at his old friend's face. His amethyst eyes were angry, betraying the disappointment across Kira's face.

"Kira! What happened to the girl who was here!"

"Why'd you do it, Athrun?"

"It's time to Dance Dance Renovate!" the machine screamed out as a thudding beat started to pound out.

"Friend of yours?" Dearka asked over Yzak's yawning.

"Kira, I don't want to do this!" Athrun stamped on the up, right, and down arrows in rapid succession. "It's not like I want to fight against you!"

"Neither do I!" Kira shouted back, mirroring Athrun's movements. _Oh crap, this is on Extreme level! I'm going to kill you, Mir!_ "I didn't have anything to do with Bloody Valentine! I was just selling snacks at the time!"

"But you're a Natural!" Athrun followed a quick left/right freeze with a jump move. "It doesn't matter if you're selling snacks or kicking or batting the Haroball!"

"Does it really?" Up, up, right left down down, up, up, left right down. The arrows kept falling from the top of the screen as they leapt, stomped, and danced, eerily in unison. "Does it really matter what you're doing at Heliopolis? You should have been at Pequot! You should have been in ZAFT! You should have been with _me_!"

"I wish I could have, but I didn't have a choice, Athrun!" Kira missed a left arrow, breaking a combo. "I didn't want to stay there, but when Cagalli left with my parents, I had to stay here!"

"Hey, did he say something about ZAFT?" someone shouted over the small crowd that had gathered to watch. "Are those guys Coordinators?"

"Oh crap." Dearka shook Yzak a few times. "Hey, we may be in trouble."

"But still, you could have made it!" This time, Athrun missed the step. "I don't care about being a Coordinator or a Natural. I don't want to fight you, Kira!"

"I don't want to fight you either, Athrun, but you stole the Strike! We can't just let it go! That's our mascot! It belongs to Heliopolis, and we've gotta get it back!"

**To be continued…**


End file.
